A catastrophic collapse of a six-storey residential building in Gaza City has left at least 20 people dead, including five children. The Palestinian Civil Defence reported that the structure fell overnight, leaving 14 individuals injured and an estimated 100 people still trapped beneath the debris. Rescue teams are struggling to navigate the disaster site, hampered by a critical lack of heavy machinery.
Footage verified from the scene captured the desperate struggle to reach survivors, with civil defence crews and local residents working primarily by hand. Witnesses recounted hearing the cries of children coming from deep within the wreckage. Among the successful rescues, crews pulled a young girl and several other survivors from the rubble, all of whom were quickly transported to medical facilities for urgent treatment.
Gaza civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal stated that teams are working tirelessly to recover victims and search for the missing. He noted that the operation is extremely difficult because rescue workers lack the specialized equipment necessary for such large-scale debris removal. Consequently, the shortage of machinery has forced rescuers to rely on manual labor, which significantly slows emergency response times.
The building, which housed four apartments on each of its six floors, had been weakened by earlier Israeli military strikes. According to the Gaza Government Media Office, the structure’s integrity had been severely compromised during the ongoing conflict, directly leading to its eventual failure. Local officials are now holding both the Israeli military and the international community accountable for the tragedy.
Gaza City Mayor Yahya Al Sarraj described the local municipality and civil defence as effectively paralyzed by their lack of adequate tools. He warned that this disaster is unlikely to be an isolated incident, as thousands of buildings across the besieged territory have been left structurally unsound due to extensive war damage.
Many families in Gaza remain living in these precarious, damaged structures because they have no other options. Basal explained that the total absence of refugee centres or suitable tents forces residents to remain in buildings that constantly threaten their lives. These risks are exacerbated by strict Israeli controls on the entry of construction materials and heavy equipment needed for essential repairs.
UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Ramiz Alakbarov, expressed devastation over the incident. While praising the rapid offers of aid from countries including Qatar, the UAE, and Egypt, he emphasized that every minute remains critical to potentially saving more lives. As the search continues, the disaster underscores the escalating humanitarian crisis facing civilians in the region. The report also notes that killing at least 20 Palestinians, including women and children, and trapping dozens under the rubble, a war-damaged residential building has collapsed in Gaza City. The report also notes that and several survivors emerging from the rubble, including young children appearing breathless, before being taken away by ambulance, one video showed a young girl pulled alive from the wreckage.